Global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture says it is working on a number of smart meter deployments globally, including assisting State-owned power utility Eskom to deploy its pilot project of 10 000 smart meters.

Accenture says a smart meter is one of more than 11 smart grid functions and is regarded as an enabler for a smart grid by many utilities.

A smart grid is a type of electricity grid which attempts to predict and intelligently respond to the behaviour and actions of all electric power users connected to it, including suppliers and consumers, to efficiently deliver reliable economic and sustainable electricity services. Smart meters enable two-way communi-cation between the meter and the central system.

The contract is one of several contracts that the company is working on in Africa, and particularly in South Africa. “There is great potential in Africa for the use of smart grid technologies to deal with the energy crisis,” says Accenture smart grid chief architect for Europe, Africa and Latin America John Dorn.

In the South African context, it is an achievable aim to be using the smart grid technology on a larger scale by 2016. “The smart grid must be developed as part of a roadmap to deal with the backlog in infrastructure investments,” he adds.

The significant advantage of using the technology is having fewer power outages and, when one does occur, it takes minimal time to fix. This leads to cost savings as the smart grid enables easier detection of faults that could lead to outages, he says.

Dorn says the way forward in the near future, in ensuring that the smart grid technology thrives in Africa, lies in innovation. “This can be achieved through open dialogue with Eskom and other utility providers, and the involvement of university students through competitions, as they are creative and some can invent new technology to add to the advancement of the technology.”